Member News

Aston Shaw has released a new and improved mobile application for both apple and android devices, which boasts a number of great new features.

Aston Shaw first released an app in 2011 and many of the most-used features have been retained, such as the rather useful tax calculator, tax table, tax tips and a key tax dates calendar.

• Tax Calculator – Using the calculator, you can work out how much tax is payable on taxes such as corporation tax, dividends, income tax and many more.
• Tax Tables – Using the ‘Tax Tables’ feature you can see current taxation rates and benefits, from National Insurance to Vehicle benefits.
• Key Tax Dates – Keeping informed of key tax dates is important, it can be the difference between meeting deadlines or being lumbered with penalties.
• Tax Tips – Receive practical, up-to-date tax tips that can help you save money.

The new version of the app however, has the addition of:

• Blog
• Quickbooks
• Receipt Bank

What do these new features mean for clients?

The introduction of the blog feature means that clients can keep up-to-date with Aston Shaw’s award winning blogs! Blogs cover a range of topics, from industry news to business tips. Clients will also have the option to receive push notifications every time a new blog is uploaded.

The integration of quickbooks into the Aston Shaw app means clients can run their business anywhere by using the number 1 small business cloud accounting platform. With quickbooks you can:

• Create and send professional invoices and estimates (in multiple currencies).
• Download, categorise, and reconcile bank and credit card transactions.
• Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet reports show how your business is doing.
• Attach photos and notes to estimates, invoices, customers, and transactions.
• Receive overdue invoice notifications so you always know who owes you money.
• Customise tax rates for your business.

Do you hate having to keep looking after receipts? With the Receipt Bank feature on Aston Shaw’s app, you can simply snap photos of your receipts or invoices and Receipt Bank will extract all of the information for you. This means you can get rid of all those annoying bits of paper.

The new app also benefits from a quick access link to the client login section of the Aston Shaw website, making it even easier to manage your finances on the go.

The app is available for download now on the Apple App Store and Google Play!

TaxAssist Accountants, the largest network of accountants specialising in providing services to small businesses, has bolstered its board of executive directors as it continues to grow its operations both in the UK and abroad.

James Mattam, previously Senior Business Development Manager, has been promoted to Group Business Development Director, while his predecessor Sarah Robertson will take on wider responsibility as Group Operations Director.

James joined TaxAssist Accountants after leaving university in 1999 and has played a key role in helping to generate business for the TaxAssist network. He has also managed important relationships with suppliers and partners, ensuring TaxAssist remains a leading force in the accountancy industry and the small business market.

His new role will see James responsible for marketing strategy, brand development, shop fronts, practice management and business development strategies for the UK accounting network and international matters.

Sarah has been a director at TaxAssist since 2004 and helped transform the business development department, which included successfully introducing shopfront premises for many franchisees and contributing extensively to the overall development of the business.

With her comprehensive knowledge of the network and skillset, Sarah will bring a different dynamic to the role as she focuses on recruiting new franchisees and making sure that TaxAssist continues to embrace the latest technological advances.

Outgoing Group Operations Director Phil Sullivan will become Group Finance Director, while Karl Sandall and Ray Clarke remain as Group Chief Executive Director and Group Technical Director respectively.

Karl said: “As the TaxAssist network grows both in the UK and internationally, we have ensured our franchisees are able to continue to receive support from a highly experienced and skilled board.

“Sarah’s new role was a natural progression so she can take on wider group responsibilities, and I am delighted we have been able to promote James in recognition of his hard work and contributions to the TaxAssist success story.”

September 2016

The future growth of TaxAssist Accountants in Australia has been mapped out by Master Franchisee Terry Murphy and business partner Celeste Godwin, following a visit by the company’s UK-based International Development Team.

Senior Manager UK & International Franchise Development, David Paulson, and Richard Chatten, International Support Officer, visited Terry and Celeste to provide further support to his Australian business, including its Support Centre staff and three franchisees.

The fortnight enabled David and Richard to provide training and support to staff at TaxAssist practices in Burleigh, Woolgoolga, Taree and Forster, as well as providing them with the opportunity to discuss the overall strategy for the next 12 months. As part of this vision, they were able to highlight any additional training to further enhance franchise recruitment and support.

David and Richard also visited franchisees Avendra Narayan, Panbo Ye and Colin Lua, who are all based in and around the Sydney area, as well as approving a shopfront location in Sydney Central Business District (CBD) territory for Colin.

The duo also met Ian Watt, Senior Business Development Manager Franchising – New South Wales (NSW) and Australian Capital Territory (ACT) of Westpac bank, to further strengthen the relationship with TaxAssist Accountants to benefit new franchisees joining the network.

Terry said: “Being able to show David and Richard our success to date and discuss my business strategy for the coming years with them in person was not only appreciated, but beneficial to us all. Their visit highlights the level of assistance TaxAssist Accountants provides to its Master Franchisee and single unit franchisees globally.”

David added: “Richard and myself have had an extremely productive trip providing further guidance and support as we work together to ensure the success of TaxAssist Accountants in Australia.

“Terry and his team have made a fantastic start, and all of the ground work has been done and it is now just a case of building on these solid foundations. It is a pleasure to see how well TaxAssist is working and growing in the short time since my last visit in March.”

August 2016

The Employer Training Incentive Pilot (ETIP) has been around for a year or two now, and has helped many businesses (including ours!) by funding a proportion of the cost of training. Of course, certain condition apply. The Bad News; the scheme will not accept any new applications after 28th February 2017. So if you’ve been thinking about Level 3 or 4 Health and Safety courses, now is the time to act. The Good News; funding for one learner is now up from £1000 to £1500, and the proportion of funding is increased from 30% to 40%.

This funding will apply to all of our Level 3 and 4 training courses, including Food Safety, Health and Safety & Training Skills (Train the Trainer courses)

Where Can You Find Further Information? Contact us for a flyer and application form, or go to Suffolk Chamber of Trade directly by clicking here Telephone; 01473 694811 Email; etip@suffolkchamber.co.uk And don’t forget to tell them that we sent you!!

This September, accountants from East Anglian Accountancy firm, Aston Shaw will be heading to the Lake District to undertake one of the UK’s most difficult endurance challenges – all in support of local Children’s charity, EACH.

This is not the first time staff members from Aston Shaw have taken on a daring challenge for charity. Last year, the firm committed to raising £10,000 through a sponsored skydive alongside various other fundraising activities.

The 24 Peaks in 24 Hours challenge will be every bit as challenging, if not more so than the skydive. This is an endurance challenge in which teams must reach the peak of 24 mountains/hills in the Lake District within just 24 hours. Over two days successful teams will have covered some 44 kilometers (33 miles) and climbed a total height equal to half that of Mt Everest, all this within a combined time of 24 hours!

Aston Shaw have again committed to raising £10,000 for EACH this year; staff are busy training and raising sponsorships. The event is drawing ever-closer, on Saturday 24th September and Sunday 25th September, 18 members of staff from all 5 of Aston Shaw’s offices will be putting their training to the test as they tackle the long anticipated 24 peaks in 24 hours challenge. You too can help Aston Shaw reach their goal of raising £10,000 for EACH by visiting their JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Aston-Shaw

EACH supports families and cares for children and young people with life-threatening conditions across Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk and relies heavily on donations from fundraising activities. The money raised will largely go towards the nook appeal; EACH is raising money for a new, bespoke hospice to be built in the heart of Norfolk. The new hospice will be much better equipped to provide the services that the children need, and will bring new facilities for the children to enjoy.

Every time a new mobile phone is released, the internet is awash with reviews and comparisons articles. Some people are iPhone evangelists while others stick to their Android guns, but more recently Android have shown an increase in market sales, overtaking Apple by a considerable margin and now account for three quarters of the market share.

One could argue this is because of better User Interfaces, faster hardware, the ability to hold a charge or the fact that iPhones bend permanently, but I think it’s more unconscious than that. In a growing tech-minded world, people just don’t like to be told what to do anymore. Since early 2000s, when Apple’s breakthrough mass market product, the iPod, was plugged into just about everybody’s ears, Apple have been controlling how we live with personal tech. With their shiny white headphones and inaccessible battery, the iPod/Pad/Phone cartel have removed the public’s ability to be unique, their ability to choose.

As the computer nerds of the Eighties have grown up, they’ve gotten used to hacking software, to customising their tech and making it perform the way they want to. As technology becomes part of everybody’s lives, not just the geeks, ordinary people want more freedom too. Not only is it better for the user, it’s also interactive, it’s fun! After all, who wants a dog that can’t learn any new tricks? We’re teaching our children, who are already ten times more tech-minded than we were at that age, to code and to build software. There’s an inherent joy in creating something and watching it perform to your commands. iPhone removes the ability to control our own tech, as if we can’t be trusted to see what’s inside the bright white casing.

Quite simply, Android technology shows more faith in the user. Rather than having to go to the shiny Apple store and speak to a ‘Genius’, Android phones can be serviced by the user. If you’ve created an app, the Google Play store allows much easier access for smaller designers, whereas the Apple app store has Apple-shaped hoops the creator must jump through to comply with their guidelines. Android phones can be customised in a multitude of ways (something Apple has now caught on to), in order to make the phone work for the user, not the other way around.

From being able to service a device yourself to making your UI suit your needs, Android is more user-centred. iPhones remove that trust in the user. In much the same way that new cars cannot be serviced by the owner, but must be taken to a brand-named garage to have a computer run diagnostics, any iProduct must be returned to the all-knowing maker. In short, Apple has little confidence in their consumer, and deems them not smart enough to know what they want or make it happen for themselves. Android on the other hand, gives us free reign, with open source software and says ‘show me what you can do’.

Words by Lauren

Did you enjoy watching the Olympics? Now it’s your time to shine!

September sees the return of the Shake Up September Challenge and this year we’re encouraging you and your colleagues to get active and try out some Olympic and Paralympic sports in Norfolk. Even better, by getting involved and logging activity (through the website or mobile App) on Workplace Challenge during the month you could win some great PRIZES! Could your organisation top the leaderboard and claim the glory? For more information on the Challenge including how you can play Shake Up September bingo with your colleagues and to download the Shake Up September poster to display in your workplaceclick here.

No gold medals but we have some great prizes! Be in with a chance of winning some great local and national prizes by logging your activity on Workplace Challenge during September. For information on national prizes,click here. In Norfolk, we will be giving away prizes every Monday for 4 weeks starting on Monday 12 September. To be eligible to win a prize, just log any activity online during the previous 7 days (or from the 1st September for the first week) then keep an eye out on the news section of the website or Active Norfolk’s twitter page to find out if you are one of our lucky winners. Prizes will include cinema, shopping and restaurant vouchers. Plus – log any active travel during September and you could win a bike worth up to £400!

Travel actively during Shake Up September and you could win a bike! We all rely on cars and public transport, because they make our lives so easy. But making active travel choices can be an easy way to fit activity into your day. It can take a little longer and you may not be able to do it for all your journeys, but you may be surprised where you can swap the car or public transport for two legs or two wheels. If you can walk or cycle instead of driving or taking public transport, it can also be good for your pocket, as well as the environment. So there are even more reasons to give it a go! During Shake Up September, we are encouraging you to introduce some active travel into your regular journeys. Whether you are going to the shop, to visit friends, family or commuting to work why not try travelling actively by walking or cycling, plus any active travel you log on Workplace Challenge during Shake Up September will enter you into a prize draw to win up to £400 to spend on a commuter bike and accessories at Pedal Revolution.

Shake Up September Fit4Work Competitions As part of Shake Up September, Active Norfolk are running two Olympic inspired competitions as part of our Fit4Work Competition Calendar. • Shake Up September – This Girl Can Ladies Fun Gymnastics Challenge at UEA Sportspark on Tuesday 13 September – only 2 team places left! • Shake Up September – Fit4Work Volleyball at UEA Sportspark on Thursday 29 September For more information and to book your workplace a place,click here.

More information:www.workplacechallenge.org.uk/activenorfolk

It is with a heavy heart that we have to announce our withdrawal from our role as digital media provider at this years Sundown Festival. Due to circumstances outside of our control we are unable to take our services as planned to the festival in 2016, and we couldn’t be more disappointed. However we only provide our customers and venues with the very best, and at this point we were unable to provide the exceptional quality that we pride ourselves on, so we will be postponing this collaboration until next year when we will be back bigger and even better.

We would like to reiterate our deepest apologies to all our customers who were excited to be at Sundown this year, but we have secured all of you a place at our next POP UP event. A huge thank you to the team at Sundown for their understanding, and we know that this years festival is going to be an exceptional and exciting music event, not just for East Anglia, but nationally.

We look forward to our future collaborations – BBA Digital Media.

Our latest salary and recruitmentsurveyhas shown that the demand for newly qualified accountants, in both commercial and practice, is escalating across our region.Accountancy and finance recruitmentis one of our key specialisms and our associate directorDavid Culleyexplains the impact this has had on salaries in this sector.

“Our report shows that newly qualified ACCA/ACA accountants in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire are getting the highest wages in our region, with typical annual salaries amounting to £44,000 and £45,000 respectively. While these are higher than neighbouring Essex and Norfolk, we are starting to see salaries increase across all four counties.

“This is because the demand for newly qualified accountants, in both commercial and practice, is escalating. With a narrower talent pool to choose from, accountancy firms are becoming more concerned about missing out on talented professionals. This has shifted the power to candidates and they feel more able to negotiate better salary and benefit packages. Those with ACCA and ACA qualifications especially have been able to leverage higher starting salaries as they already have a greater understanding of the day-to-day duties and responsibilities within an accounts team.

“The candidate short market has also meant that part-qualified accountants are becoming more attractive to employers. Companies are warming to the idea of hiring candidates that are looking to complete their qualifications and advance within a company.

“While this is encouraging news for the economy as a whole, the demand for highly-skilled accountancy professionals is only going to become more challenging for firms. Accountants do tend to have a lower move rate than professionals in other sectors with study support available. But while many opt to stay within their organisation, the candidate-driven market means they are still well-placed to command better salaries over time.”

The salary report uses data sourced from ourCompareMySalarytool. This is a unique online tool for candidates and organisations to benchmark salaries and benefits against like-for-like job roles in the region.

Have you seen the lovely old sewing machines we have on display in the window of our Norwich Sunblinds St Benedict shop at the moment? If not do drop by and take a look, they’re delightful old machines and have attracted lots of interest.

One is an old German Titan machine dating from the early 1900s, and the other is a Singer sewing machine that was purchased in 1933 (and still has its receipt). This date ties in perfectly with Singer’s introduction of the ‘featherweight sewing machine’ in 1933 that made it more practical for many more people to have sewing machines at home.

In 1939 however, Singer had to stop the production of sewing machines for a while to help with the war effort.

Singer’s name has been synonymous with domestic sewing for over 150 years, and it is incredible how the machines have changed in that time. The Singer was the first machine to sew a ‘continuous, reliable, straight or curved seam’. Now they operate almost like computers with a dazzling array of options for sewing and embroidery.

But, however good the sewing machines, the end product depends on the skill of the machinist. At Norwich Sunblinds we are very proud that we have some incredibly creative and talented staff who are not only skilled at the items they make for us which can include all styles of blinds and curtains together with tie-backs, pelmet valances and cushions, but who thoroughly enjoy sewing and creating for pleasure in their own time.

The sewing machines were brought in by Julie Budrey, our supervisor at the Norwich Sunblinds’ St Benedict’s Street shop. The singer sewing machine is owned by Julie’s sister; originally it belonged to their Great Aunty and has been passed down the family through the generations. The Titan machine belongs to Julie’s mother. Both machines have created many hundreds of miles of stitching over the generations and created hundred of garments from curtains and soft furnishings to dresses and school clothes for their family and friends.

Today Julie and her sister are still very passionate about making clothes, soft furnishings and undertaking alterations for themselves and others; this is also true of many of the staff who work for Norwich Sunblinds. The team at the factory in Attleborough make the blinds, and the curtains, and the soft furnishings are made by a dedicated and skilled local workforce, They are all very talented workers, and many of them carry their skills through to their leisure time and have a real passion for creativity.

www.norwichsunblinds.co.uk

01953 615945

Norwich Lanes Showroom: 8 St Benedicts Street, Norwich, NR2 4AG

Attleborough Factory and Showroom: 11-14 Haverscroft Ind Est, New Road, Attleborough, NR17 1YE

As the window and specialist cleaning sector of East Anglia’s leading cleaning company, Monthind Clean, continues to expand, the need for a dedicated administration hub has initiated the opening of their new office in Gorleston, Norfolk. Simon Howes, Window and Specialist Cleaning Business Manager, explains: “We operate across the whole of East Anglia and our operatives are based in optimal locations, including Peterborough, Cambridge, Great Yarmouth, Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester and Harwich, facilitating a service provision that is second to none. Our new office in Gorleston allows us to consolidate the administrative processes including sales, health and safety, and training resulting in streamlined and cost-effective management.”

By its very nature, window cleaning requires stringent health and safety management and Simon’s NEBOSH General Certificate, alongside more than 25 years in the business, is fundamental to the extensive duty of care Monthind demonstrates to its staff and customers. Simon says: “We provide our workforce with the best training, including day to day health and safety training through IOSH, IPAF Certificates to enable our operatives to use an extensive range of access platforms and PASMA to give us the flexibility to use mobile scaffold towers. This equipment enables Monthind to establish the safest method of access where the need to reduce the risks involved in window cleaning is paramount. We always try to work from the ground where practicable, and our water-fed poles which extend from 3ft to 72ft make that easier to achieve.”

Monthind uses pure water to clean windows, which is purified through reverse osmosis at several Monthind sites across the region, guaranteeing crystal-clear, residue free results. “Using pure water is key to our excellent cleaning. We are justifiably proud of every aspect of the service we provide, and we react quickly to customer concerns and requests, “says Simon. “If our clients need us to come out at short notice, for instance, in the event of an unexpected VIP visit, we’ll try our hardest to be there the next day. Monthind is dedicated to achieving unrivalled service excellence and every member of my team upholds this ethos.”

Simon’s team isn’t restricted to providing window cleaning; he manages every aspect of Monthind’s specialist cleaning too. “We provide a plethora of services, including building wash-downs, gutter cleaning, grounds maintenance, high-pressure washes, deep cleaning services and carpet cleans. In short, if it needs cleaning, we can clean it,” concludes Simon.

For more information about Monthind Clean and its services, visit www.monthindclean.co.uk or call Simon’s team on 0845 61800403.

Bigfork designed the new UK website for membrane manufacturers, Porelle. The objectives of the new site were to make it responsive mobile friendly and to add the new branding. Porelle’s customers are technical designers and buyers so the design had to present their breathable and waterproof membrane technology in a highly visual way that shows the applications and benefits of Porelle’s product. This was achieved using high quality imagery and benefit focused messages throughout the new website. Porelle sell worldwide and European languages will also be added over the next year to add to the Russian and Chinese websites already designed by Bigfork. Take a look at the Porelle website.

Bigfork – we make websites stand out

t: 01603 513080

www.bigfork.co.uk